Stein Collectors International
Featured Stein: September 2010
Stein Collectors International
Featured Stein:
September 2010
Pretty Maids All in a Row
by Rich Cress
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By some form of serendipity, I bought all of the three Schierholz steins pictured above 
within about eight weeks. So, who
needs three identical Happy Munich Child steins anyway? Not me, but
the prices were right, especially for the stein in the middle, the one
that has just a little something extra, in the form of a barrel tap.
To my knowledge, this is the only example of this stein that includes
a tap. Because it's made of porcelain and has identical coloring to
the bung on the barrel, I'm guessing that it was made at the factory.
Perhaps as a trial piece, or more likely as a special order.
Even without the tap, these steins are anything but identical. Because they were hand painted, you can see many slight differences between them, especially in the coloring and in the quality of painting. Interestingly enough, the stein with the tap also has the best painting, which may indicate that it was indeed a special order. 
All three of these steins share what initially appears to be a defect
on the underside of their lids. There is a very small spot that is
unglazed, almost dead center. David Harr gave me the answer as to why
the spot is there. The entire lid - base, barrel and Maid - had to be
fired together, and Schierholz may have experienced some sagging
problems, so at some point they included a ceramic "prop" under the
lids in the kiln to help them fire perfectly. Some steins have this
unglazed spot, while others have completely glazed underside lids
without spots.
When I bought the first stein, I was concerned about this "defect," but when it also appeared on the others, I knew it was a factory thing, and I just needed to find out what it was all about. My Unhappy Munich Child stein also has this same spot, even though she is smaller than her alter ego. |
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